I was especially annoyed by Stereophile's review of Belles' amps; "not the greatest in resolution but extremely musical" (my paraphrase). I tried the 150 version & was so underwhelmed I thought something had to be seriously wrong with me or my rig (it just can't be THAT bad I'm thinking). NO detail even after I tweaked & tried everything possible. A later opportunity to audition the 350 confirmed a higher power lo-fi version of the original piece. Sure wasted a lot of my time & some $ down the drain. Not saying all of their advice is worthless & I still like the rag, but jeeze!
Most annoying Stereo magazine claim
The new thread "What's the most trustworthy stereo magazine" got me to thinking. One of the things that inhibits their credibility, and makes them pretty annoying, is when the reviewers become effusive about a product (as if it were the second coming of Christ), going on and on about a product and using canned flattery like, "it removed another veil from the sound stage." This claim and "it made me want to just listen to the music and play all my CD's again," are the most annoying to me. What about you?